We can fondly look back to our days as student pilots, particularly our eagerness to engage in those touch-and-goes. We remember spending copious amounts of time learning what initially seemed like rather disjointed routines such as ground reference maneuvers, climbs, turns, slow flight, descents, and stalls because our instructor emphasized that these were the fundamental building blocks.
However, it seems that once we demonstrated a reasonable proficiency in these maneuvers and the touch-and-goes lesson finally arrived, the thrill and focus of takeoff and landing practice led many of us to almost disregard what occurs between each one of them – the traffic pattern. This maneuver (or series of maneuvers) encompasses much of our previous training but is often executed sloppily by both students and experienced pilots alike.
